"Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara condemned China's decision to tighten export controls on dual-use items, accusing Beijing of attempting to expand its global dominance in rare-earth metals during a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Embassy of Japan in China have made strong protests to the Chinese side and requested that the measures be withdrawn," he stated. "The recent measures, which target only Japan, are in stark contrast to international practice, are completely unacceptable, and are extremely regrettable," Kihara added. China tightened export controls on Japan on Tuesday, targeting dual-use items that can serve both military and civilian purposes, citing national security concerns. "As there are many unclear points regarding the content of this measure, including the targets of the measures, we will refrain from commenting on the impact on Japanese industry, but we would like the government to carefully examine and analyse the content and consider any necessary measures," the chief cabinet secretary concluded. Beijing had previously included rare-earth metals on its dual-use export control list. These metals are key components in green energy technologies and hybrid vehicle motors – a move that could impact Tokyo's automobile sector."